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(edited 12/10/08 for font correction and version update)

No one really slept well that night. The keep was sealed and though there were plentiful supplies maintained as siege rations, the people muttered and strode around, pushing at the wall surrounding the building until they gave up and returned. Even digging beneath it had no effect.

The word of the dragons visit had spread throughout the populace so wild rumors abounded and angry glances cast up at the lord's window as they waited for something to happen.

Duncan tossed and turned as his dreams filled with calamitous visions of being eaten slowly in front of everyone, with the dragon starting at his feet so he could see what was going on.

Joe and Martin returned to their respective partners to comfort and support them. Joe finally able to explain to an openmouthed Jane what really had been going on with the novice. While Martin held his wife close and tried to prepare her for the worst.

Cill huddled herself around James and watched him as he twitched in his sleep. She felt guilty for not being able to protect him when he had needed her and she resolved never to let him out of mental contact again. She tenderly licked his face and drizzled water into his mouth when his lips became dry. She could feel his power slowly returning and wondered what it meant. How he had come to possess it as well and what he was going to do with it? It was all very puzzling.

Her parents had ported to Marre's lair. It was obvious they knew something she did not and that worried her. It was not like her mother to be quiet and thoughtful and to cast worried glances at her like that. Mama was always a tower of strength and power. She gave a sigh and curled tighter around James before slipping back into sleep.

Marre looked at the two dragons glaring at him "No No No!" he cried "I'm too old for this. You want me to tutor a human into controlling his power. We know nothing about this!" He paced up and down slowly. "We don't even know if his power works like ours. He might incinerate himself if he tried to light a candle"

Nokala coughed "I saw him use it; he can contain it if taught and will wield it well. He was able to focus it instinctively even though he didn't know what he was doing"

Marre stroked his chin slowly. "And if we do teach him. Will he use his power against us or for us? Do you know his heart? These humans tied him up and tortured him. He may want to go back and melt the place into slag for all we know"

Carlina spoke up from her place beside Nokala "He won't do that. I saw his heart when he was courting Cill and it would take a lot to turn him from his sense of good. Cill would not have mated with him if she had sensed he was weak"

Marre snorted derisively "Cill is young and foolish; she is also bound by hormones and desire that cloud her judgment and perhaps her actions also. You know what will happen if we induct a clan member that is not only human but possessing our greatest asset?" he stabbed a talon at Carlina.

Carlina nodded "The same thing that would have happened anyway had he just been plain human" She reached out and took the elder's paws in hers.

"I believe if we don't teach him, it will be far worse than if we do. At least we will know his weaknesses should we have to act"

Marre met her gaze and sighed again gustily, "Very well, I shall try and teach him. But not every day and not all day. My nerves could not stand it. Cill also needs to learn more as she grows in her power and perhaps if the both of them learn together it will increase their bond further"

Carlina smiled and kissed the old blue on the snout gently "Thank you Marre. The clanship ceremony will be held in three days at Ridgemount and I hope you will be there to help", she looked down at the ground "We expect a certain amount of ... resistance to his joining of course but we hope that we can convince the eldest to allow him to join"

Marre grinned at the pair of them "You really think you can do this? Make a human a full Dracalar clan member?"

Nokala took Carlina's paw in his and nodded at the elder. "I believe so; it will eventually be to the benefit of all dragon kind as you are well aware"

Marre grinned widely "Yes, it is time for us to welcome new growth and new ideas into dragon society" He shook his head "No-one said it would be easy though"

The day dawned bright and warm over the keep and the weary, sandy-eyed citizenry walked around, occasionally pushing at the invisible wall in the vain hope it had vanished overnight.

Duncan summoned Joe and Martin to his office and they sat glumly waiting for something to happen. Jane tiptoed in with a tray of fresh bread and dipping pots of savory gravy for them to eat and placed it on the desk. She winked at Joe and sauntered out after bringing a grin to his face.

"So, what do we have to negotiate with?" Duncan asked as he sat at his desk, wiping beef gravy off his chin.

"Not a lot sir" replied Joe after a moments thought "I know James would like to keep up his training here and we may be able to offer something there" He blinked as a sudden idea struck him.

"I know his er... mate has a lair near here but if he were allowed to keep her here it migh'encourage him a little more"

Duncan stared flatly at his impudent master-at-arms "You mean to offer him 'married quarters'...and with a dragoness no less?" he grated.

Joe flushed "Well sir, I don' think they'll trust us much if we don't show willing to let them be together"

Duncan groaned and put his face in his hands again "I'll be the laughing stock of the army if this ever gets out"

At eight am, the guards at the gates shouted and ran into the bailey in alarm. A man had ridden in through the impenetrable shield surrounding the keep as if it was not there.

Subsequent experiments by others within the keep soon proved it was still present as was evidenced by several bloody noses.

This rider was quickly recognized as the dark man who had arrived late yesterday and soon Lord Duncan had been informed. He swallowed nervously and went outdoors to meet Sir Nokal once more. He paled as he saw the angry dragon-human heading towards him and held out a trembling hand in greeting.

Nokala ignored the outstretched hand and strode past into the mess hall, heading for a table where he sat himself. At the head Duncan noted, this did not bode well.

"Sit" ordered Nokala and waited for the human to comply. He was not in a good mood and he did not care he was making the humans nervous by his attitude and scowl.

"Now human" he began, steepling his fingers under his chin. "We have a problem. None of it is your fault or mine but we have to deal with it nonetheless"

Duncan nodded and felt a surge of irritation at being called 'human' as was Nokala's intent.

"Duncan", he gritted "My name is Duncan Tarrant and I am lord of this keep" Nokala snorted in amusement "Lord of a pitiful assemblage of crumbling ruins but I suppose you have to take pride where you can. Even if means having to torture helpless novices to prove it to yourself."

Duncan reddened but controlled himself "I thought he was a demon and gave him to the proper authorities to deal with"

Nokala leaned forward so his nose was inches from Duncan's "You very nearly turned him into a demon. It was only luck and my daughter's love that brought me here last night", his eyes flickered into ovoid slits abruptly making Duncan flinch back in his chair.

"You meddled with forces you have no inkling of and I am here to make sure it doesn't happen again," Nokala breathed.

Duncan paled "What are you going to do?" he managed to get out, hypnotized by the reptilian eyes. "Kill all of us?"

Nokala leaned back "That depends on you. What are you going to do? I assume Joe has told you about James and my daughter by now"

Duncan nodded "I didn't understand a lot of it though. I must protect my people here or die trying. I am sorry about James but we did not know. He hadn't told anyone ..."

Nokala slammed a fist on the table "You almost killed him, yourself and the entire keep. If I had not absorbed the mana, he would have turned into a mindless creature of power that would have been a blight upon the world. Can we trust you not to interfere in the future knowing your precious keep will be hostage to your word?"

Duncan sweated gently in the still air of the mess "You have us in your power now. Trapped here to die slowly but surely ensuring our silence. Is this your wish?"

Nokala leaned back; he had said what he wanted to and now was the time to offer a carrot rather than a stick. "No, I had to reveal my true form due to necessity. We do not kill wantonly and though you goaded James into unleashing his power, you were not aware of them. Ignorance does not excuse stupidity though and I shall make sure of this"

Duncan heard the change of tone and became curious in spite of himself.

"What do you mean?" he asked nervously "Will you lower the wall and let us go back to living our lives?"

"Eventually" Nokala lied, knowing the wall would come down at sunset regardless as the mana depleted. "If you give me your word that James shall be allowed to continue his training here without prejudice" He held his face still, hoping the human would fall for this.

"Why?" Duncan said without thinking. Nokala leaned forward and scraped a finger that had somehow become a sharp talon down the surface of the table.

"That is not your concern," he rumbled "He is also to be allowed afternoons off to study how to control his powers"

Duncan watched the deep channel dug into the tabletop with fear, a tremor entering his voice. "He is not an agent of the devil then?"

Nokala sighed, "No, He mated with my daughter and somehow absorbed some of her power. She is definitely not a demon. Merely a foolish dragoness with the poor sense to fall in love with a human"

It was too much for Duncan; he could not help the laugh as it rose up and erupted in the quiet mess hall. "Hahaha! And he fell in love with her! He got it wrong! Knights are supposed to slay the dragon, not lay the dragon". *

Nokala felt the tension draining away slowly and grinned "Correct, now I shall bring him back when he recovers, you shall apologize to him and things can go back to normal"

Duncan nodded and wiped his brow "I shall have to talk to the others and explain the situation. I think some of the other novices will be very very nervous though"

Nokala mirrored the nod "James has not changed outwardly. He will be confused though. Tell your priest not to interfere also"

"Father Champlain has not regained his wits," Duncan said regretfully. "He merely lies as if in a sleep" He reached out and took Nokala's hand bravely "Can you help him. He was only doing what he considered to be right"

Nokala considered, he had made his point but he could not afford to be soft "you have still not given me your oath" he replied softly

Duncan nodded "I swear James shall not be molested or treated differently now and in the future".

Nokala grinned at him "Very well, let us go see your priest"

James suddenly took in a deep breath and awoke to find himself pressed warmly against Cill's breasts. He yawned widely and wondered why he felt so good after such a harrowing day. He saw his mate was snoozing, and stroked her muzzle gently until she cracked an eyelid open.

"Morning sleepyhead", James said with a grin "Did I keep you up?"

Cill growled and licked him soundly, holding him down with a paw "How on earth did you get dragon magic?" She asked while tickling his ear with her tongue and making him squirm.

"I've no idea", he replied, trying to tickle her in retaliation. "I had some strange dreams though"

Cill spun him over so he was looking up at her snout "You were in terrible danger and I thought I'd lost you," she murmured. "Father had to come and rescue you before you burned the keep down"

James blinked "I tried calling you but it was if you were too far away" he frowned "Then that idiot of a priest branded me!"

He looked frantically at his thigh for the burn before he remembered "But it healed...He really got scared at that and then I felt something weird and it's all a blur from then on"

Cill nodded and they cuddled together dozing lightly until James heard a heavy footfall behind his head and turned slowly, dreading what he would see.

Carlina stared down at him, her tail twitching slowly as she took in the sight of the pair. Not letting the amusement enter her voice or glare, she rumbled quietly "So, sleeping with my daughter in my own lair, eh human?"

James paled and tried to extricate himself from Cill's grasp only to feel her grip him more tightly in her sleep. "Er...Sorry" he muttered up at Carlina who was enjoying herself immensely.

"I suppose you'll make an adequate son-in-law, how are you at raising hatchlings?"

James goggled up at her "Whee?"

"Hatchlings" smirked Carlina "Little dragons...come from eggs...you know?"

Completely lost at this point, his gaze flicking from the sleeping Cill to Carlina, James blinked "Me? But...is she?" he flushed and shut up.

"She might be...We will have to wait and see wont we" Carlina leant down and grinned toothily "You need to learn more...Marre has agreed to teach you how to control the magic that you got from Cill."

James looked down at himself 'How did I ...?" he asked, looking pleadingly up at his mate's mother.

Carlina sighed, "When you mated with her that first time, you shared in her power. We had no idea it would happen with a human though." She reached down and gently stroked him with a talon "You are in for a rough time James. The power comes with a responsibility and a price. I hope you are strong enough"

James nodded and stroked Cill who was also now awake and listening "We will both be strong enough"

Carlina looked at the pair and felt a sudden surge of pride, her daughter had chosen well even if he was a hairless ape.

"Very good, Nokala has spoken to your lord and it has been agreed you shall continue your training in arms there and alternate your time with Marre. Try not to blow either place up"

Carlina turned and left the room quickly so they would not see the tear running down her snout.

Father Champlain lay on the pallet in his chapel, covered with a blanket and unmoving. Nokala leaned over him and laid a hand on his chest. The man had been a conduit for the forces unleashed by James and had suffered severe damage both mentally and physically.

Nokala frowned and exerted a little of his power, feeling the damage within the man and shaking his head slowly "I can help... but he will be a long time recovering if at all"

Duncan nodded sadly "Do what you can for him..." He took the priest's clammy hand in his and squeezed it "He was only ever called on for marriages and funerals"

Nokala turned around to look at Duncan "Marriages? This is the human mating custom is it not?"

Duncan nodded slowly "He has been here a long time and is well respected" Nokala sent a gentle surge of healing power through the priest's body and it suddenly heaved up off the pallet in response, a groan coming from the man.

"He shall perform the ritual for Cill and James here then" A grinning Nokala said as he felt the man's mind clear somewhat.

Duncan blinked "Here... you want a dragoness and a human married in our chapel?"

Nokala nodded and grinned "They are to be joined in our mateship ceremony soon, so why not in yours also?"

Duncan's face was a sickly color "I don't know... but it will be ... tricky" He could just imagine the priests face when he was told.

Father Champlain whimpered on the pallet but soon calmed and began to snore gently.

"He will recover slowly... but his body has been stressed far beyond normal means and this will prevent him from exerting himself in any way," Nokala did not mention the fact that the priest's life would be shortened significantly by the experience.

This was a side effect of mana misuse. Adepts could effectively use their enemies' life force to sustain themselves until draining them to death.

"The shield wall will come down at sunset. You will find James to be a great asset", Nokala murmured to Duncan as they left the chapel, walking back to the mess hall "He will be almost impossible to kill and will survive wounds that would debilitate a normal human though he will still feel the pain of them" he stopped and took Duncan's shoulders in his hands.

"My daughter will soon be here also, on no account will you attempt to prevent her from seeing James or vice versa. Do you understand?"

Duncan nodded slowly "I understand, Will she be like a human too?" Nokala looked sidelong at him "No, her skills are insufficient to change as yet, so she will be a dragoness"

Eyes wide, Duncan stopped in his tracks "So James ... bedded her as a dragoness?" he could not help the image that popped into his head at that point.

Nokala grinned "Oh yes... you must agree the lad has balls"

Moona was feeling peevish; everyone was having fun except him. He had been dragooned into being Nokala's horse once more and eating carrots for lunch had never been his favorite pastime.

He kept his ears open, as people would say things around horses that they would never say around humans and there was plenty of gossip. The predominant rumor being that the devil had shown up to claim James personally and that the wall keeping everyone in was the prelude to the keep being sucked down into the fiery reaches of hell itself.

Moona yawned widely and looked sidelong at the mare in the stall beside him; she bared yellowing teeth at him and nickered enticingly. He tried to concentrate on higher things but one of the problems of taking an animals shape was that it left you vulnerable to their instincts and his nostrils twitched at the scent in the air. He groaned mentally and felt an embarrassing response in his hindquarters.

He was saved in a way by a curious mental tickle from someone he had not heard from in a long while. "Shalla? What do you want?"

*Shamelessly stolen from http://elfwood.lysator.liu.se/art/a/n/andersson/dragonlayer.jpg.html